It Comes and Goes in Waves
by sonnymonroes
Summary: Chad Dylan Cooper has never needed anyone for anything. But when his parents die in a terrible car crash, he may need a little "sunshine" to help him out.
1. Chapter 1

Monday mornings will always be horrible for Chad.

Not because of the fact it's a plain, old Monday.

But because on one Monday, something happened that he would never forget.

It started like no other, of course. He left around 8 in the morning to head to Condor Studios. He was, after all, the greatest actor of the generation. He pulled up in his silver convertible and parked in his spot. That's right, he had his own spot. He coolly walked up to the main entrance doors and made his way inside.

Rehearsal for Mackenzie Falls didn't start until around 9:30, so he had some time to kill. He casually walked to the So Random! set and moseyed by the prop room. The door was shut, and it seemed that the light wasn't on. His eyebrows knit together in confusion. Maybe those clowns weren't going to be here until later? Not that he cared. Well, maybe he did care a little. He cared for a certain Random.

He shrugged and made his way back to stage 2. When Sonny wasn't in the studios, it was always really quiet. It wasn't that she was loud, it was that without her, he didn't bother to talk to anyone else. No one else captivated him like Sonny could. He went to the snack area by his dressing room and grabbed himself a muffin. He had no idea how he just sat around and killed time, but soon enough, it was 9:25, and the greatest actor of our generation was needed.

Acting always goes well for Chad. He knows his lines, he knows he's good, and everyone else knows that, too. So he never got nervous. Rehearsals normally finished in a breeze for him.

Chad also never kept his phone on him during rehearsal. That was highly unprofessional.

But what wasn't professional was a guy Chad had never seen before bursting onto his set. Who did he think he was? That was only okay when Sonny did it!

"Do I need to fire someone?" Chad snapped, crossing his arms to his chest.

The random guy apologized and put his hands up in surrender. He mumbled something to Chad's director and Chad scowled at the two. What in the world was going on?

Chad's director yelled, "Cut! Chad, come here for a second."

Chad made his way towards the two. "What's the hold up?" He asked, a little more irritated than he intended it to be. The random man spoke up, "Condor's orders. You have a family emergency."

All color drained from Chad's face. "W-what?"

The man sighed, not knowing how to calm down the actor. "I don't know, Mr. Cooper. All he told me was that it's an emergency. Condor wants to see you in his office." And the man left. Chad stood there blankly for a few seconds before rushing to Mr. Condor's office. What could have happened? His heart was beating quicker than the amount of steps in his running. Finally, he made it to the office. Normally, this office intimidated him. But now, without bothering to knock, he burst into the room.

"What's going on? What happened?" Chad frantically asked.

Mr. Condor sighed. "Take a seat, Mr. Cooper."

Chad practically slammed his hands on the desk. "I can't sit! You call me out for a family emergency and then tell me to have a seat? What happened?"

Mr. Condor rubbed his temples and then looked up at the raged teenager. "It might help if you sit for this."

Chad shook his head. "No. I need to know what happened. Now." He insisted darkly.

"Chad, there was an accident." He hesitantly replied.

"What kind of accident?" His legs were shaking and his heart was pounding and Chad wanted this sick game to stop.

"Your parents." Mr. Condor spoke softly and carefully. "They've been in a car accident. They were rushed to the-"

"What?!" Chad interrupted loudly.

There was a knock on the door. Chad didn't let Mr. Condor let them in, "What the heck are you talking about?"

"Chad, it's best if you head to the Hollywood Hospital. It's about ten minutes away from here. You know which one I'm talking about?"

Chad gripped his hair tightly and collapsed into the chair Mr. Condor had previously offered him. He breathed deeply and his thoughts were cluttered.

There was another knock.

Mr. Condor took off his glasses; sighing. "Come in!" He called.

Chad panicked. Nobody could see him in this state! Even if it was-

"Sonny!" Mr. Condor cheered. "Just who I needed. Would you be so kind as to drive our friend Chad, here, to the Hollywood Hospital?"

"What?" Chad and Sonny exclaimed at the same time.

"Chad- you're too troubled to drive. Sonny, I'll get back to with whatever you need later. Could you do this, please?"

Sonny stared at Chad, who had his head in his hands in the chair, and then back to Mr. Condor.

"Um...sure, yeah. Okay. Chad, come on." She said slowly.

Chad shot up. "If this is some sort of joke, I'm going to be pissed." He growled at Sonny, and headed out of the office.

Mr. Condor gave Sonny one last thankful glance, and she left right on Chad's trail.


	2. Chapter 2

The car was an interesting experience. Chad was anxiously tapping on his legs the whole car ride.

"Is this a damn joke?" Chad cried out suddenly. His head snapped to the left to glare at Sonny.

"What?!" Sonny asked, appalled. "I don't even know what's going on! Are you hurt?"

"No, i'm not hurt!" Chad exclaimed as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Okay. Well, what happened then?" She pressed.

"I was called out of my flawless rehearsal saying there was a family emergency! Then I found out my parents were in an accident! What the hell?" He shouted.

"Chad, please calm down. We'll figure it all out when we get there." She tried to soothe him. He continued to tap on his legs.

The minute Sonny pulled into the parking lot, Chad shot himself out of the car. He ran up to the main doors and made his way to the front desk quickly. He had no idea if Sonny was behind him, but he frankly didn't care.

"Hi-" the receptionist began.

"Hi, don't care." Chad rudely interrupted. "I was told my parents have been in an accident."

"Okay." The receptionist, Kelly, eyed him. "Your parents' names?"

"Elise and Mark Cooper." He tapped impatiently.

Kelly looked up, her face pale.

Chad heard the doors of the hospital open, and he assumed it was just Sonny.

"Elise and Mark Cooper passed away only a half hour ago. They were in critical condition and didn't make it."

Chad's heart stopped. Or at least he thought it stopped. Nothing seemed to be moving. The ground met his back quickly as he fell into unconsciousness.

When Chad awoken, there were two people hovering over him. A nurse, he thought, and Sonny. He recognized Sonny instantly. They both looked extremely concerned.

"Wha- What's going on?" Chad slurred.

"Chad," the nurse began, "You passed out."

Everything came flooding back to Chad in huge rushes. Rehearsal. Office. Condor. Parents. Accident. Hospital. Sonny. Dead. Critical condition. This couldn't be happening.

Sonny helped him sit up, and the nurse offered him a paper cup filled with water. He pushed it away.

"What happened to my parents?" He outraged.

"Chad, come with me." The nurse pulled Chad up gently when she noticed others in the waiting room began to stare.

He followed the nurse numbly, with Sonny close behind him.

The nurse sat him down in an enclosed office looking room. She shut the door, and Chad noticed Sonny sat close next to him.

"Chad, your parents were in a car crash this morning. It was reported immediately, but they were in such poor condition that they died minutes after arriving at the hospital." She stated.

Chad's mouth hung open. He refused to let any tears fall. After all, he was in shock.

"What?" He heard every word she said, but he just couldn't believe it.

"I am so sorry about your situation." The nurse responded sympathetically.

Chad ignored her. Her felt a hand on his. Was it Sonny's? The nurse's? He had no clue, and he didn't care. All his mind could wrap around was his now deceased parents.

"I-I need to go." Chad said, getting up.

"Wait." The nurse started. "Before you go, we're going to need some contact information, as well as other members of your family's phone numbers. We need these on file for medical purposes."

Chad numbly answered all of her questions and once he had given her all the information she needed, he stood up, and walked out.

Sonny got up right away and followed him.

"Go away, Monroe." He called to her bitterly.

"I'm your ride home, Chad." Sonny stated simply.

Chad sighed as he realized that. He blinked back angry tears.

He waited for her to unlock the car, and made his way into the vehicle.

The ride back to the studios was silent. Sonny didn't dare speak. What do you say to a kid with no parents? How do you comfort them?

Chad stared blankly out the window the whole ride. He didn't feel like discussing anything. Everything hurt. The clouds were dark outside and everything may as well been gloomy. There was no breeze, in fact, everything was still. And Chad felt still. He felt like he could never move again.

When they arrived, no one got out of the car for a moment.

"Chad, uh, there was no rehearsal today. So do you wanna come to my set with me? I mean, I figure you don't wanna be with anyone right now. And no one's in my dressing room so, yeah." She rambled. She waited for a cruel response from Chad but all she got was an "Okay." It was quiet, and it sounded sad. Well, duh, it was sad. But she had never heard Chad sound so broken.

They both got out of the car and Sonny locked it as they headed into the building.

She had to lead her way to her dressing room. Chad's mind was too fuzzy too remember what rooms were where.

"And here we are." Sonny stated. She shut the door behind them. It was weird being here with just Chad. She was so used to Tawni being at her vanity, or Zora climbing through the vents.

But it was pure silence.

And then, Chad collapsed. He fell onto the nearby chair and started to cry. Hard.


	3. Chapter 3

Sonny flew by his side immediately.

"I just can't believe it." Chad gasped in between sobs. Sonny placed a hand on his back. She had never seen Chad cry before. She had no idea how to comfort him.

"Chad." She whispered. His head had fallen into his hands as he tried to hide how hard he was crying. "Chad, I just want to help..." She started.

Chad stood up suddenly. "This is crazy!" He threw his hands up in the air. "I mean, I woke up today and my parents were living people. They were breathing!" He cried. His hands flew into his hair and pulled at every direction. "And then I get a call saying it's all over. They're just...gone?!" Chad exclaimed.

Sonny stood up and walked over to Chad; who was pacing around her dressing room.

"Chad, please calm down." Sonny put a hand on his shoulder, pulling him slightly and making him look at her.

"Sonny!" Chad cried out. "I don't have parents! How am I supposed to calm down?!"

Sonny's shoulders dropped sadly and she gave him a look of pure apology. "I don't know." She numbly replied.

Chad dropped his hands; which were previously behind his neck, nails digging into his flesh. He stared into Sonny's big, bright eyes and then to her lips. And he instantly needed comfort. He needed someone to be there for him, physically.

Chad kissed Sonny softly. Softly turned into passionately. Passionately turned into heated. And heated turned into desperate.

He gripped her waist and deepened the kiss. He frantically ran his hands up and down her back; finding their way under her shirt. She gasped at his sudden contact with her skin.

His hands found their way back on the outside of her clothing. He tugged at her shirt and stopped the kiss for only a moment to breath heavily.

He went back in for another sad kiss before Sonny stopped him.

"Chad." She breathed.

"Mmm." He simply responded; pulling Sonny's body closer to him, if that was possible.

Then he stopped. And he crumpled onto the lounge chair in the dressing room. And his eyes exploded with tears and his head fell into his hands.

"Chad, I-"

"I can't believe I took advantage of you like that." Chad weeped.

Sonny took a seat next to Chad closely. She was practically in his damn lap.

"Chad, it's okay. I- I get it."

"But you like me!" He cried.

"What?" Sonny asked, taken aback.

"Don't you like me or something?" Chad choked out.

Sonny's heart quickened. "I mean...As a friend..."

"Oh." Chad coughed. He frantically wiped his cheeks roughly.

"I get it though. You're lonely and upset and I was here and...it's okay."

Chad's face crumpled again. He tucked his head into the crook of Sonny's neck.

"I'm so fucking sorry."

"It's okay."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

She heard him sniffle and her heart shattered.

"Chad. Lie down, okay?"

He lifted his head and shook it quickly. "No, Tawni will kill me."

"No. I'll explain it to her later. Let's go to sleep. It's been a long day, huh?"

"A-as in both of us?" Chad stuttered.

"Well, where else are we gonna sleep in here? There's only one couch." Sonny insisted.

Chad nodded and fought more tears springing into his eyes.

"I have a bed in my dressing room. Can we go there?" He asked quietly.

Sonny hesitated. "Chad-"

"I won't take advantage of you. I promise. I was out of line earlier." He pleaded.

Sonny nodded. "Okay. Let me get some stuff first."

Chad wanted to bawl his eyes out forever. He stood up and waited for Sonny to gather some belongings.

"Okay." Sonny sighed. "I'm ready." She took Chad's hand in her own. "Lead the way, Cooper."

Sonny's heart fell into her stomach when he didn't smile at that.

Chad's room was sad. Maybe it wasn't. Maybe just the situation made it sad.

"Here it is." Chad said. It sounded like a whisper. His voice was hoarse and depressing.

She dropped her bag by the bed and closed the space between her and Chad with a hug. He clung to her and tucked his head into her neck again. Everything felt so empty to him.

"Get into something comfy, does that sound good?" Sonny asked comfortingly.

Chad simply nodded.

Sonny waited on his bed while he changed. She wanted to "Aw" out loud when he came out.

Chad was clad in an oversized blue long sleeved shirt, accompanied by checkered PJ bottoms. He rubbed his eyes and yawned. He was pure adorableness. Sonny smiled softly at him.

"I'm gonna change quickly, okay?"

Sonny had no idea why she was babying him so much. She felt so bad for him, and she felt like all she could do was take complete care of him.

Chad nodded again while Sonny grabbed her bag.

Where was his voice? Everything hurt. Everything was numb.

Sonny came out barely 3 minutes later, in the process of tying her hair in a ponytail.

"Oh, crap." She rushed back into the bathroom. Chad didn't think anything of it.

But when she came back out, he noticed all her make-up had been removed. She was still so pretty. Chad wanted to cry more and he had no idea why.

Sonny set her bag back down by the bed and flopped onto it.

Chad was still on the edge of his bed, staring blankly at his feet.

"Chad?" Sonny questioned.

"Mmm." He mumbled a "reply", if you could even call it that.

She stayed silent. What do you say to that?

She heard him sniffle and couldn't take it anymore. She missed her Chad. She didn't expect him to come back for awhile, however. But that thought killed her inside.

She flung her arms around his neck from behind. She kissed his shoulder, even though he didn't think anything of it.

"You're so brave." She murmured in his ear. He grabbed one of her hands that were dangling around him. He gripped it and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to keep back more damn tears.

"T-thank you. Sonny." He added her name like it was a statement. A want, a need. He added her name like he was going to ask her something else, but couldn't, because everything was so fucking hard right now.

"I would do a lot for you, Chad." She didn't know what that was supposed to mean, or prove, but she still said it.

Chad opened his eyes and his lips parted slightly, as if he was going to say something else. He was thankful she couldn't see his ugly, blotchy face.

"I would do _anything_ for you." Chad simply added.

"Why?" Sonny couldn't help but ask.

Chad drew a blank. Why would he?

"'Cause you're my sunshine. I'm tired." He said lamely.

Sonny couldn't believe what Chad had just said to her. He would do anything for her. Anything.

She switched his lamp off and smiled to herself.

She felt him crawl under the covers and snuggle close to her.

His breath was hot and comforting on her neck.

"G'night, Sonny." He mumbled.

Sonny sighed. "Goodnight, Chad."

Darkness met them both.


	4. Chapter 4

Chad blinked several times in the morning. He was confused as to who the girl was next to him and why his eyes felt so sore.

And then it hit him like a thousand bricks.

His parents were dead.

They were not coming back.

He looked over to the girl in his bed.

Sonny.

He couldn't even smile at how beautiful she was.

He was in a funk. And he was scared of how long he would stay in it.

He nudged Sonny. She didn't budge.

He sighed.

He thought about everything that happened last night.

Sonny was overwhelmingly nice. And it felt good to have that kind of comfort.

Chad yawned and sat up in bed, stretching. He figured he could squeeze in a shower before Sonny woke up.

The shower was blazing hot. And he couldn't believe his skin could take it. It burned like hell, but he stayed under the blistering water. His head hurt, and his legs shook, and he collapsed under the steam and hotness.

Nothing was ever going to be right again.

Sonny awoke unaware of her surroundings. But then she breathed in the scent of the pillow and...Chad. Everything rushed back to her.

She noted that Chad was in the shower and snuggled back into the covers. Maybe today would be a better day.

She faded in and out of sleep for a good twenty minutes. She sat up, concerned as to why Chad was still in the shower. Sure, he was a diva, but did he really shower for half an hour?

She got up slowly and headed to Chad's bathroom. She knocked gently. Then more loudly when she didn't get a reply. "Chad?"

She sighed and knocked again. "Chad, are you okay in there?"

From the other side of the door, Chad was heaving in the shower. He felt like he was going to throw up, but couldn't. Everything was shaky, and he felt dizzy. This couldn't be happening. Sonny kept knocking and it took everything in him to turn off the shower faucet.

Sonny's knocking became more clear now that the water wasn't running.

Chad grabbed his navy blue robe hanging from his towel hook and wrapped himself in it.

He didn't even bother looking in the mirror. He knew how horrid he looked. He opened the bathroom door and refused to meet Sonny's eyes.

"Chad? Are you okay?"

Did it look like he was fucking okay?

"My parents are dead, Sonny."

The statement didn't come out rudely, but just as a sad comment; like it finally hit him.

Sonny stared back at him sadly.

"Chad..." She reached out to touch his hand.

He just shook his head.

"Don't...it's okay." He insisted weakly.

He walked past her into his dressing room. Sonny stayed near the bathroom while he got dressed.

When he was done, he stuck his head out of the doorway.

"You can come in now."

Sonny couldn't miss the faint tear tracks on Chad's cheeks.

Chad looked fragile. Like if Sonny even so much as hugged him, he would crumble apart into her arms.

"I thought about dying in the shower. Is that bad?" Chad worried aloud. Sonny had no clue how to answer it.

"Chad...I-"

"It's bad. Isn't it." This came out as a statement. It sounded broken. Chad knew he was broken and he admitted it. And that made Sonny want to die with him.

She engulfed him in a hug instantly. She hoped that maybe she could carry his sadness into her so he would never have to deal with it again. But sadly, that wasn't the case.

Chad barely hugged backed. He felt weak.

"I'm sorry, Sonny."

"For what?"

"You've been so...sweet to me and all I can do is give you silence in return. I feel like an asshole."

"No, really, it's okay. I understand. You're going through a lot right now."

Chad just nodded.

"Thank you. So much."

Sonny smiled slightly at him.

"So what do you wanna do today?"

He shrugged and sat down on his bed.

"I know I have family flying in and I have some preparations to make for the..." He stared at the wall behind Sonny in a daze. "The funeral."

Sonny nodded. "Okay. Do you wanna get something to eat before all of that?"

Chad thought of going to the cafeteria and seeing someone whose smile reminded him of his parents and imagined him panicking and crying in front of everyone.

He shot up off his bed.

"Sonny, I can't face going in front of a bunch of people."

He face was pale-white, and Sonny had never seen him look so scared. She wondered how many more times her heart was going to break with Chad. It was painful even for her just to see him in this state.

"Okay, okay." She cooed quietly. She inched towards him slightly, and took his hand. "How about we go to my apartment and I'll make you something? There's no people there, right?"

Chad's eyebrows were still knitted together in panic. After a moment, his face softened. He nodded, then, as if changing his mind, stopped. "Are you sure? I don't wanna bother you. I mean, I already fucking have enough; being a baby and all."

Sonny's heart didn't exist anymore. It shattered to the floor. How could he think he was a bother?

"Chad, really, it's no trouble at all. I-" What could she say? She loved him? Oh, she did. But she couldn't drop that bomb now. "Just come on." She pleaded to him. His blue eyes were always so bright, but today, they seemed dull and dark. His lip quivered slightly, and he nodded to her.

"O-okay."

She gave him a smile and dropped his hand. She led the way and opened the door, and noticed Chad's phone still sitting on his nightstand. "Chad, aren't you gonna need that today? To get in touch with family?"

He glanced sadly at his vibrating phone. He should probably take it, yes. But he knew if he did, he would never stop crying.

"No. I'll be okay for now. They can wait." He nodded to himself, like he had to prove his excuses to his conscience.

"Okay." Sonny gave up. She grabbed her back from the night before, and they headed out to the Condor Studios parking lot in complete silence.


	5. Chapter 5

In the car, Sonny didn't know what to say. Stupidly, she asked, "Do you wanna talk?" Chad stared at her radio longingly, in deep thought. "Chad?" She asked again.

His head snapped up, his blue eyes still dull. "Yeah?" His voice wasn't normal. She wondered if he even slept at all last night.

"Did you wanna talk?" She tried again.

He played with his fingers and stared at them. "Am I a bad person?"

"What?" Sonny asked. The only sound to be heard was the sound of the car's directional.

"Am I bad person?" He asked louder this time. There was a crack in is voice at the end of his sentence, and it hit Sonny like a knife in her chest. Of course he wasn't a bad person. He was one of Sonny's favorite people in the world.

"No. Why do you ask?" She stared at him. His jaw was clenched and his eyes were pooled with tears.

"I feel like...like maybe my parents died because I was a bad person. Like this is karma for being so rude and conceited." He shuttered.

"Chad!" Sonny nearly slammed on the brakes. She sighed and pulled the car into her apartment complex parking lot.

"What?" He hissed back at her.

She parked the car and directed her gaze to him. "How on Earth can you think that?" She cried.

"Because!" He yelled. He sank in his seat; feeling bad for shouting at Sonny the way he did.

"Because I was terrible to you." Chad narrowed his eyes at her, but not in a rude way. He looked confused. "Why would you want anything to do with me?"

"If you were terrible to me, then I was horrible to you." Sonny concluded.

Chad managed a small, yet sad, smile. "You were wonderful to me."

Sonny leaned in and brought Chad into a hug. He seemed smaller. He didn't look any smaller, but in her arms, he felt fragile and...petite.

"Let's get some food!" She demanded after letting go of Chad. He nodded and opened the passenger door. Sonny led the way to the inside of the apartment, up the stairs, and into her home.

Chad felt a sense of comfort when he stepped foot into Sonny's apartment. It was cozy, and a bunch of picture frames decorated the living room.

"It's nice." Chad noted after moments of silence.

Sonny smiled at him. "Thanks. I did a lot of the decorating."

"You did a great job." He complimented.

"Thanks, Chad." She blushed slightly. "So, food?"

He nodded eagerly, following her into the kitchen.

The kitchen was small, but Chad wasn't complaining. There were only four seats at the table. He slid out the chair closest to Sonny; who was pulling out pots from the cupboard.

"I was in the mood for Mac n' Cheese." Sonny admitted sheepishly. "That okay with you?"

Chad had to smile. "Of course."

He was super cute when he smiled. And Sonny wondered why she had never really paid attention to his smile before.

Sonny nodded and grinned. "Great." She began boiling the water, and then sat in the chair next to Chad.

"Wait," Chad started. "Don't you have rehearsal today? Are you sure i'm not-"

"Chad, really, you're fine. No rehearsal until 8 tonight. We've got time." She insisted.

Chad's heart sank and he had no idea why. Maybe it was because he knew he would be lonely tonight. Sonny would have to go to rehearsal, and he couldn't bother her while she was working. He was going to have to be by himself, and who knows how that would play out.

Sonny must have noticed the glum look on his face. "Everything okay?"

"Just dandy." Chad replied bitterly.

Sonny felt horrible. She reached for one of his hands that was resting on the top of the table. He snatched it away; folding his hands in his lap loosely.

"Chad..."

"Just...it's fine, okay? I'm fine." He didn't dare meet eye contact with her.

The water bubbled loudly behind the two, and Sonny shot up to put the noodles in the pot. She stirred for a few minutes, not really knowing how to go about talking to the normally chatty teen beside her.

She tried to put himself in Chad's shoes, but couldn't. She had no idea how he must be feeling. And it pissed her off that the only she could do for him was make him some lunch. She felt like a horrid friend.

She pulled out two pulls from the cupboard. She smiled as she decided to give Chad the blue one. She filled the bowls with the cheesy pasta, and set the food out on the table.

"I thought you might want the blue bowl?" She tried to make him smile.

He stared at the food and realized how un-hungry he was. He couldn't disappoint Sonny like he has all day, however.

"Thanks." He mumbled. He stabbed at the noodles for a moment, feeling Sonny's stare on him.

"What?" He snapped, looking at her. Sonny immediately looked down into her bowl.

Chad could have slapped himself.

"God, Sonny, i'm really sorry. I don't know what's gotten into me..."

"It's fine." She replied quietly.

"No, it's not." Chad sighed deeply. Maybe he should just shut up. He ate maybe 1/4 of his meal before pushing it away, like a small child.

"You don't have to finish it all." Sonny told him, picking up his bowl and setting it on the counter along with hers.

"Sonny, you know I'm sorry, right?" He turned to face her. She nodded quickly.

"It's fine, Chad. We should get back to the studios though."

Chad understood. "Okay. Fine." He stood up and stretched slightly.

"Fine." Sonny replied, a smile dancing on her lips.

Chad looked up, and whipped around to face Sonny. "Good." He breathed out.

"Good!" Sonny cheered. At least some part of the old Chad was still lingering.

Chad smiled to himself. Maybe he could be himself soon enough. He missed bickering with Sonny. And she made him forget the pain in his life.

"So we're good?" Chad played.

Sonny wrapped him into a big hug. "We've never been better." She sighed happily into his chest. Sure, he probably wouldn't stay in this mood, but for now, seeing him smile was enough. He returned the hug after a moment and it felt like heaven to him.


	6. Chapter 6

The car ride back to the studio was better than the previous car rides. Chad actually reached over and held Sonny's hand on the way there. She didn't question it. She simply looked over and beamed at Chad. Seeing him like this was a relief. She hated seeing him so miserable.

"Do you wanna watch our rehearsal tonight?" Sonny asked.

"Would your friends want me there?" Chad raised an eyebrow.

She shrugged. "No clue. But I'm inviting you, so they can deal with it."

Chad bit his lip subtly. "I dunno..."

"Come ooooon." Sonny whined. "It'll get your mind of things."

Oh, right. Chad thought bitterly. Dead parents. How could he forget?

"Uh. Sure. Why not." He finally agreed. Besides, that was extra time to see Sonny and not be alone. How could he decline?

When Sonny parking in the area where the So Random! set was, Chad stayed in the car.

"You comin'?" Sonny asked.

"There's people in there." Chad pointed out.

"Yeah, and the sky is blue." Sonny sarcastically stated.

"Sonny, you don't get it. I don't wanna see people. I- What if people ask questions? What if I can't answer them? I don't - I just can't. Okay? I can't."

Sonny thought for a moment. "Look, there's a back entrance that leads to the prop room. Wanna just go through there?"

Chad stayed silent before nodding. "Okay. Okay, I'll do that."

Sonny smiled slightly. "Atta boy!"

They both left the car and headed for the back door. But Chad still couldn't help worrying. What if the press was there? Could they have already found out what happened? What if he... cried in front of someone? That was Chad's worst nightmare. Making a fool out of himself in front of the public.

He followed Sonny through the shady area and through the door. Sure enough, they were in the prop room. Or, the "Clown Room" as Chad used to call it.

"Where's your cast?" Chad asked, legitimately wondering. He didn't want them asking questions either.

"If I know them, eating probably. It is still lunchtime, after all."

Chad nodded. That made sense. And then something on the coffee table caught his eye.

It was a picture of Sonny and Chad on their way to the hospital. And there, in big, bold, and purple letters stated, "Chad Dylan Cooper: Medical Emergency?"

"Shit!" Chad cried.

Sonny rushed to his side and glanced at the magazine. Sick paparazzi. Why couldn't they screw off for one day?

"Chad, this is really vague. No one even knows what happened!"

Chad flipped open to the page revolving around him. And for the first time ever, he wished it wasn't. There were more pictures of Sonny driving him, and pictures of him sprinting into the hospital. He groaned, sitting down.

"But Sonny, they will. They'll figure it out." He laid down on the couch and stuffed his head into a pillow.

Why couldn't his parents just be alive? Why did this have to happen to him?

Chad hadn't moved a muscle since he read the magazine. Sonny left to grab them both a snack, and the minute she left, he felt empty.

Here's the thing. Sonny was like his rock. She kept him secure. And when she wasn't around, he felt like nothing. That sounds pathetic, but maybe he was pathetic. He thought this everyday. He couldn't believe how much he relied on Sonny.

He was interrupted by his thoughts by Sonny coming back into the prop house.

"Chad? I brought fruit snacks." She stated. What a dork. Fruit snacks? Sonny was beyond cute.

"Oh, and I grabbed your phone." She set it next to the pillow Chad's head was resting on.

He didn't feel like using it, but he had six missed calls, so he knew he had to.

"Do you mind?" Chad asked, gesturing to his phone. He didn't want to be rude. She waved her hand and dismissed him. "It's totally fine."

Chad nodded, calling his grandparents back. The whole conversation stung. The told him how sorry they were, and how much they loved him and that the funeral was planned for Thursday. That was two days away, and there was no way Chad was ready. He then called his Aunt Tracy back and she said the same sorts of things. Chad's family was actually kind of small. So there wasn't too many people to call back.

When he was done, he sighed loudly.

"Everything good?" Sonny asked, noticing Chad was off the phone.

"As good as it can be, I guess." Chad mumbled.

"So...Thursday, huh?" Sonny subtly mentioned.

"Yeah. About that. Sonny?"

"Yeah, Chad?"

"Go with me."

"Are you sure?"

Chad bit his lip. "Yes. I need you there. Please?" He looked up at Sonny with pleading eyes.

"Okay. I will." Sonny agreed.

Chad nodded. "Okay. You're the best, you know that?"

Sonny grinned smugly. "I've been told on occasion."

Chad managed a smile. "You little..." He shot up from the couch and engulfed her in a tackle.

"Chad!" She squealed as he began to tickle her.

"Who's the best?" He asked her, as he threw her on the couch; proceeding to tickle her.

"M-me!" Sonny tried.

"Wrong answer!" Chad exclaimed; continuing to attack her sides with his fingers.

"Oh my God, Chad, stop!" She giggled.

"Who's the best?" Chad chanted.

"Okay, you! Chad Dylan Cooper is the best!" Sonny managed through fits of laughter.

Chad stopped tickling her and gazed down as her. "That's what I thought." He softly replied.

Sonny was captivated. Chad's eyes were surprisingly bright and he still had a goofy smile on his lips. His normally perfect hair was now a shaggy mess. And it couldn't have looked any cuter.

"Um, Chad?" Sonny squeaked.

"Yeah?" He responded, still gazing into her eyes.

"My hips are being crushed!" She admitted, her cheeks flushing.

Chad hadn't realized he had been straddling her. "Oh!" He jumped off of her and coughed awkwardly. "Sorry about that..."

Sonny sat up ad fixed her hair slightly. "It's fine."

"Fine."

"Fine!" Sonny stuck her tongue out at him.

"Good."

"Good."


	7. Chapter 7

**This chapter contains very brief mentions of suicide. Nothing major, but I thought I should point it out. **

Thursday rolled around faster than it should have. Chad stared at himself in the mirror in his dressing room. The suit he was wearing was unlike any suit he had worn on Mackenzie Falls. There was no bright blue or purple dress shirt under it. His dress shirt was grey, just like his eyes seemed to be. Maybe his eyes used to be so blue because of all the blue shirts he used to wear. Or maybe because he was happy. Who knows. He adjusted his jacket for the millionth time when Sonny walked into his dressing room. She stepped into the view of his mirror so he could see her. She looked beautiful. She was wearing a simple black dress, long and flowy. Her hair was tied back and her make-up was simple, yet stunning. Chad turned around to face her.

"You look pretty."

Sonny blushed a bit. "Thanks. You look...great." She breathed. She just wished the reason he looked great wasn't because of a funeral for his parents.

"Thanks." He mumbled back to her. He really didn't want to do this. He figured tears would come, but maybe he was all cried out. He clenched his jaw and looked at himself one more time in the full-body length mirror. Who was he? That sounded so cliche to say. but really, it was like he couldn't recognize himself anymore. He used to be so goofy; so full of life. He used to talk so highly of himself, and he and Sonny used to laugh all the time, and he used to feel whole. And now he was an orphan? Everything felt wrong.

He felt a hand on his. Sonny's. And he glanced at their intertwined hands in the mirror. He doubted Sonny liked him the way he liked her. There was no way. He had a billion things wrong with him and she was perfect. She gave him a small smile in the reflection, and he couldn't give her one back.

"Are you ready to leave?" Sonny asked quietly.

No. No way in hell was he ready. But what could he do? Nothing. He had to suck it up, go to the funeral where he would "see" his parents for the last time and try not to bawl his eyes out right then and there.

He gripped his tie and turned around to face Sonny. "As ready as I'll ever be." He mumbled.

She held his hand as they left his dressing room and walked out of the studios. Sonny was driving, as Chad would probably be tempted to crash the car if he had driven. And that was the sick part; he couldn't get these horrible scenarios out of his head. He had never contemplated death at all before this week. But now it was like - what was the point?

Everything was falling apart.

He sighed as they drove, watching the trees and the sky. The funeral was taking place around five pm. They were early. It was 4:37 currently. Maybe he could sneak somewhere and cry for ten minutes straight. How pathetic. He scoffed at himself. Why was the sky so bright? What was bright about this day? He scoffed again, and his eyes started to sting.

"Chad? You okay?" He heard Sonny ask quietly.

He didn't answer. There was nothing to be okay about.

She pulled up to the area where the funeral was taking place five minutes later. "We're here." She stated the obvious.

"Sonny, I can't. i can't get out of the car. You know there's about twenty people out there who never even took the time to get to know my parents? They knew nothing! Why are they here?" He asked bitterly.

"Chad, they just want to support you. They know this is extremely hard on you. They just want to be there for you." She explained.

"I don't need anyone to be there for me!" Chad snapped his head over to look at Sonny, whose eyes looked extremely apologetic.

"I can't do it, okay?" His voice sounded frightened and small.

Sonny surrounded one of Chad's hands with both of hers. He was no longer staring at her. Suddenly, he was staring at his feet, as if they were the most interesting thing in the car.

"Chad. You can do it. You're Chad Dylan Cooper, for crying out loud! I know you can do it. And I'll be here the whole time, you know that, right?"

No response.

"Chad, look at me."

He obeyed. His eyes were misty; tears ready to fall at any second.

"You can do it." She gave his hand a supportive squeeze and he nodded.

"Thank you, Sonny. For everything."

He took a deep breath and opened his car door. The air was kind of cold. Maybe it wasn't. Maybe everything was just kind of cold to him. he ignored it, anyway, and walked to the grave site. Sonny was by his side the whole walk over.

There was tons of people. Some Chad had never seen before. He saw that some people were already crying. There were jumbles of groups and Chad didn't want to join any of them. Look at him, the sad little orphan with no one to talk to.

"You really do look great." Sonny admired after a moment.

"Really?" Chad asked. He didn't feel so great. For the first time in his life, he didn't feel like gloating about his appearance.

Sonny smiled. "Of course."

Chad shoved his hands in his pockets; feeling shy all of a sudden.

"Well, you look gorgeous." A corner of his mouth turned up in a tiny grin.

Five o'clock rushed by and the whole funeral was a big blur. He paid attention, but maybe there were tears in his eyes the whole time, so he couldn't see. He surprisingly did not shed a tear.

Somebody held his hand the whole time. Sonny, probably.

A lot of people gripped him into unwanted hugs and he just felt so angry the whole time.

These people explained how sorry they were, but would probably never speak to Chad ever again. Chad's family was never that close.

And he can't even explain how his heart felt when they lowered the casket into the ground, and buried over it with unworthy dirt.


	8. Chapter 8

**I am not too proud of this extremely short chapter. I've got some writer's block. Ack. Enjoy? **

The next day was terrible. Chad skipped rehearsal for his show, and nobody questioned him about it. he laid in bed and cried and wondered why this was actually happening.

Sonny had come by after the funeral and he turned her away. He couldn't take sobbing into her shoulder pathetically anymore. He felt like such a burden.

She had knocked on his door Friday morning and he didn't bother replying. She took the hint, and walked away. Chad longed for the knocking again when she left. He wanted her comfort and warmth and a soft kiss on his shoulder like she had given him the night his parents died.

On Saturday, he numbly made his way to rehearsal, but still couldn't do it. He gently put the script on his high chair and apologized quietly to his directors. And to his dressing room he sadly went.

There weren't many pictures in Chad's dressing room. He liked how Sonny had so many in her apartment, in her dressing room, and even in the prop room. The walls and tables were smothered in pictures. He wished he had that.

More knocks. Why couldn't people just screw off?

He decided to not ignore it this time. He shuffled to the door and wanted to smile when he saw Sonny standing there. No smile came, however. He actually couldn't remember the last time he smiled. Maybe when he saw Sonny all dressed up before the funeral.

"Hi. Hi, Sonny." He wanted to smack himself. What a stupid greeting.

"Hi, Chad." She responded.

He dumbly stood there for a moment.

"Can I come in?" She asked.

"Oh! Oh, yeah, yeah, sure. Come in." He awkwardly moved over to let Sonny into his room.

"I've been worried about you." Sonny started, turning to face Chad.

He scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Worried? Psh! About me?" His voice went slightly higher than usual.

"Chad..." Sonny responded in a pleading tone.

Chad sat on his bed. "What? I'm fine..." He trailed off.

She took a seat next to him.

"You're anything but fine."

"Then I'm great!" Chad insisted.

"No, Chad. You don't come to rehearsal anymore, you don't make fun of So Random!, you don't pick on my friends...you're not you anymore. You're not fine." Sonny's voice was so quiet and sad it was almost scary.

He gazed into her concerned, brown and bright eyes. Nobody had ever cared so much about him. He was a conceited, arrogant, preppy loser. Why would someone as fantastic as Sonny care so much?

"Chad?" She interrupted his thoughts.

"Huh? Oh. I just- I appreciate you, Sonny. I'm trying to get better. But I really owe you, y'know."

Chad's eyes were gorgeous to Sonny. Very sad, but gorgeous. And she wanted to fix his sadness.

And as if Chad read her mind, he asked, "Can I kiss you?"

"What?"

"Can I?"

"S-sure. Sure." Sonny replied, startled.

This kiss was different than their first desperate and heated kiss. This one was gentle. It was sweet and caring and compassionate. Sonny melted into it. Things were finally falling into place.

When they broke apart, Chad's eyes looks drained.

"Sorry I came by so late..." Sonny mentioned.

"No, no...It's okay." Chad replied. He wanted to panic. How desperate was he? Asking if he could kiss Sonny? Seriously? No way would she want Chad. All he would do to her was destroy her. He was way too sad for her. He couldn't break her heart. How could Sonny want to do this with a screwed up guy like Chad? His mind fought back and forth and it killed him. He couldn't hurt Sonny.

"Yeah, but I think I could go to bed." Chad lied. He would be up for hours; thinking.

"Oh. Okay. Well, I'll see you tomorrow?" Sonny stood up from the bed.

"Yeah." Chad lied again. He couldn't face her. She was probably disgusted with him.

She left and Chad laid on his bed for hours thinking about how sad he was.

And how sad he would make Sonny if he ever formed a relationship with her.

And how sad he was that Sonny could never be his.


	9. Chapter 9

Sonny couldn't lie about how she felt about her kiss with Chad. It was pure bliss. And she had thought about it for the rest of the day. She laid in bed and couldn't help but wish that Chad was next to her. She wondered what they would be talking about. She smiled slightly at the night she spent the night with Chad after his parent's death. He had hogged the blanket, and snored slightly. And if she could spend every night with him, she wouldn't mind him hogging the blankets and snoring. There was just something comforting about it.

Chad raced through her mind nonstop the next day. While she was working, at lunch, during breaks. It was never ending.

Tawni waved a hand in front of her face at lunch.

"Sonny? Hello? Earth to Sonny!"

Sonny's eyes snapped to look into Tawni's.

"What?"

"What's up with you? You haven't been yourself for days." Tawni observed.

"Just...y'know...thinking!" Sonny replied in her usually peppy voice.

"About what?" Nico inquired.

"So Random! Of course!" She gave him an overly happy smile.

He raised an eyebrow at her. The whole cast gave each other weird looks, before shaking their heads and going back to their food.

Meanwhile, Sonny was transferred back into her thoughts about Chad. And the kiss. And the way Chad's hands had rested on the small of her back during the kiss, and how gentle and nice it was. And how weird it was when Chad distanced himself from her when she left that night.

"I- I have to talk to Marshall!" Sonny lied, standing up quickly.

"Why?" Grady questioned.

"About this idea for a sketch!"

"Can we hear it?" Zora asked.

"It's...a secret! Yeah, a secret!" Sonny dashed off. A secret. Chad was her secret.

Chad leaned in his reserved chair in his dressing room on the Mackenzie Falls set. He had returned to his rehearsals as much as it sucked for him. His cast had been informed of his parent's death, but he wasn't sure who else knew. It was sure enough to spread soon, but his mind wasn't focused on that. He was too drained to actually care.

Sonny burst into his dressing room and for a split second, time froze. Everything was normal. It was two weeks ago. It was normal between him and Sonny. They were bickering as usual. His parents were alive; happy and healthy. He was the greatest actor of the generation, and he was good looking, and pleased with himself. But then he wasn't. Everything came back to him when Sonny was in front of him.

"Chad, can I talk to you?" Chad's heartbeat quickened immediately.

"Sure, Sonny." He nervously replied.

"I- Okay, I know everything is still really...confusing with you right now. And I know you're still upset about your...yeah, obviously. But I have to know something."

"What?" Chad asked.

"Why did you ask to kiss me?"

Chad went into panic mode. He couldn't reveal his feelings. No way. He would just hurt Sonny. This thought repeated itself a million times before Chad responded, "I don't know."

"You don't know? Sonny crossed her arms. A somewhat hurt expression formed on her face.

"Sonny, I am going through a difficult time, and you've been really nice, and you were there, and I kissed you. Okay?" Chad explained.

"So it didn't mean anything? You just used me?" Sonny scoffed.

Chad's heart was about to beat through his chest. It pounded along with the raging headache he had. "Sonny, what did you think the kiss meant?" He asked in a more rude tone than he wanted.

"Well, when a guy kisses a girl, she can only hope it's out of love!" Sonny exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. How unbelievable. She couldn't bare what Chad was doing to her.

Chad looked down. "I'm sorry I took advantage of you, Sonny. I shouldn't have kissed you then. I was lonely and I'm sorry." He looked back up and her eyes were slightly misty. Well, fuck.

She looked past his stare for a moment, and then connected their eyes again. "Well, you'd better hope you don't get lonely again. Because I never wanna see you again." She spat. She crossed her arms again and spun around; leaving Chad with his head in his hands.

What did he just _do?_

**Sorry about the short chapters. I like leaving you guys with cliffhangers, hahaha. But the plot should start picking up; giving me longer chapters to write. Thanks for reviewing! Hope you're enjoying! **


	10. Chapter 10

The most stinging pain there is is the absence of someone that was once always there. It was hard for Chad the next few days. He never saw Sonny. Or, his Sonny at least. Sure, he saw her at lunch ignoring him. But he didn't get his Sonny; the one who stuck her tongue out at him, or held his hand out of comfort, or the one who smiled at his cockiness. The one who goofed around with him. The one who made him smile when no one else seemed to be able to. Now he just stared at her from afar and wished he could take everything back. He wished he would have smiled when she came into his dressing room that one day.

He wished he would have kissed her when she greeted him.

He wished he would have said "I love you" when she asked what the kiss had meant.

He wished she was his.

But instead, he was wallowing in his regrets.

She had pretty much told him she loved him and he had acted like he was too good for her. Like always.

And it was awful having to watch her have fun with her friends and knowing he had no one.

He did love Sonny. More than anyone. So shouldn't he just tell her that? He played with his fingers at his lunch table a few days later and kept glancing over to Sonny. He shook his head and decided to do something about all of this. He stood up and strolled over to her lunch table.

"Hey, Sonny!" He said, his voice dripping with fake enthusiasm and his hand resting on the back of her chair.

Sonny turned her head and shot a glare at Chad.

"Chad."

"Sonny." He beamed at her. His smile seemed plastic. Everything seemed so wrong.

"Chad." She replied; going back to the fruit she was eating.

"Let's talk, huh?" Chad asked. Except it didn't come out as a question. It was more of a statement as he cocked his head to the side; gesturing for them to go to an empty area.

Tawni and Nico were giving each other confused looks as Sonny and Chad conversed.

"Chad, I'm busy-"

"Please." His expression became more serious instead of playful. She paused for a moment before dropping her fork on her plate and standing up; harshly throwing her napkin on the table. She ignored Tawni's glare of protest and followed him to an empty corner of the cafeteria.

"What?" She suddenly snapped quickly; crossing her arms.

"Sonny, I didn't mean what I said the other day." Chad insisted. He moved an inch closer to Sonny, and she took a step back.

"What?" She gaped at him.

"I didn't mean it. I _do_ like you, and that kiss meant that I lo-" He stopped himself. Him saying 'I love you' for the first time shouldn't be in the cafeteria. "I love spending time with you and holding your hand and kissing you and laying with you. And I just want to be with you." He said in one breath. And he swore his heart was stopped right at that moment.

Sonny continued to stare at him. "What?"

"Do I really need to say it again, Monroe?" He replied sassily; raising an eyebrow.

"I just don't believe it." She replied quietly. She looked at the floor for a moment, and then back into Chad's eyes. They were so lovely, as always. But Sonny knew not to fall for it. She would just get her heart broken again, just like the night Chad had rejected her.

"Believe what?" Chad inquired.

"That you would lie to me like that. After all this craziness, I thought you and I were…friends." She said the last word like a quiet secret. Like if she said it any louder, everything around them would collapse.

"Sonny, you're my best friend. I thought you knew that."

"Well, now I'm not so sure." Sonny spat; starting to walk away. Chad grabbed her wrist fast and pulled her back to him. He gazed into her brown eyes. They looked sad and unforgiving. Chad gulped. "Sonny, I thought that if you and I dated, I would just screw it all up. I didn't want to hurt you." Chad's grip on Sonny's wrist tightened and he gave her a pleading look.

Sonny's brow crumpled into a baffled look. "You didn't wanna hurt me?" She scoffed and ripped her arm away from Chad's grasp. "Well, congrats. Chad. You did." She gave him one last hurtful glare before marching out of the cafeteria.

And like Chad had previously felt, there was nothing more painful than the absence of someone who was once always there. And there's nothing more heartbreaking to watch than the one you love walk out of your life.


	11. Chapter 11

**I know Chad and Sonny are both acting like jerks right now. Believe me, I know. Let them figure themselves out, hahaha. Enjoy!**

"Tell me what to do about you…" Sonny strummed on her guitar. "Is there anyway anything I can say won't break us in two?"

Playing guitar normally calmed her down. It was her favorite hobby other than acting. She played a few more notes before setting her guitar on the side of her. She sighed and rested her chin on her hands. She stared at the blank TV in front of her. There was a 90% chance if she turned it on, TeenWeekly would be on and she would see…Chad. He had the nerve to come back to her and say he was just messing around? And then he expected her to just forgive him? How ridiculous.

She looked around in the prop room and it suddenly seemed so empty. Where was everyone?

As if on command, Tawni strolled it. "There you are!" She exclaimed.

Sonny looked over at her. "Here I am." She weakly replied.

Tawni practically leaped past Sonny and grabbed her Cocoa Moco Cocoa that was resting on the side table. "I've bene looking everywhere for you!" Tawni squealed before applying a generous amount.

"Gee, hello to you too, Tawni." Sonny said, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes at her roommate.

Tawni looked over at an irritated Sonny. "Okay, fine. Hi, Sonny! Where have you been?" She faked her concern.

Sonny got up from the couch and took a few lazy steps closer to Tawni. "Around." She shrugged her shoulders and tried to smile.

"You liar." Tawni accused, and flipped a curl of blonde hair over her shoulder. She gently set her lip balm back on her vanity and turned to face Sonny. "Normally you're all over the place annoying everybody."

"Thanks?" Sonny replied.

Tawni gave Sonny a knowing look. "That's not my point. My point is that you're not yourself. You're not…sunny, Sonny!" Tawni cracked a quick grin at her joke. "Ha! Get it!"

Sonny stared blankly at Tawni, and her smile dropped quickly. "You know what I'm trying to say, Sonny." Tawni finished. Sonny strolled back over the couch and sat down. "I know I'm not me, Tawni! I just-" She stopped herself and sighed. "I don't know what to do."

There was silence for a moment. "About what?" Tawni asked, genuinely concerned.

"Do you really wanna know?" Sonny asked a little more harsh than usual.

Tawni sighed. She moved the guitar next to Sonny and took its place. "Of course I do, Sonny. I don't hate you! We're friends, aren't we?" She gave her a small smile.

Sonny nodded. "Thanks, Tawni."

Tawni placed a comforting, yet awkward hand on Sonny's back and gave her a small pat. She quickly recoiled her hands and placed both in her lap. "So, spill."

Sonny sighed deeply and brushes a piece of hair out of her face. "So…Chad's parents died. I assume you know that, right?"

Tawni nodded even though she had never heard that before. "Go on."

"I've been helping him and stuff and we kissed and I thought it meant something. He said it didn't. But then a few days later, he came running back to me saying he actually does like me and he didn't mean what he had said. Am I supposed to just forgive him?" Sonny groaned in frustration.

"Whoa, you guys kissed?" Tawni exclaimed. Sonny nodded sadly. "Yeah. Yeah, we did." Tawni gripped Sonny's wrist. "That's so magical! It's like…the forbidden couple! Two opposing people from two opposing shows fall in love!" She cheered; throwing her arms up in the air. Her eyes suddenly widened. "Can I be the maid of honor at your wedding? I wanna wear blue! No, pink. No, y'know, I don't wanna take the attention away from you…" She rambled.

"Tawni!" Sonny cried. "Seriously!"

Tawni placed her hands back into her lap. "I'm sorry. But oh my god!" She cheered again.

"He lied to me, and then came running back like it was nothing." Sonny explained.

Tawni gave a look Sonny had never seen before. "Sonny, sometimes we hurt the people we love the most." She stopped for a second, and then continued. "Chad is a silly boy. But his parents died, and he's probably really messed up right now. He's just trying to figure it out. Sometimes when I can't figure out what outfit to wear, I throw stuff at my clothes. You see what I mean?" Tawni ended, with a small smile. As silly as that last part sounded, Sonny finally understood it.

"You know, Tawni. You're actually pretty wise."

Tawni smiled. "All I heard was "actually pretty." Sonny managed a small smile. "That, too."

Sonny opened her arms. "Hug?" Tawni gave her a small look of disgust.

"Do I have to?"

Sonny raised her eyebrows, and Tawni broke out into a grin.

"Fine, fine."

And Sonny sighed into the hug. There was still one more person she had to talk to.


End file.
